July  2005

 

Tango for Three

Morality in the classroom singled me out

From the tried and true, never bluer birds

Of the dance floor fantasy, moving serene

Like stars overhead, and the template squares

Set in the tiles for every boy and girl to

Follow as easy as a path of righteous fox trot,

Obeying the heavenly order of two by twos,

 

No threes, please. No dancing for threes.

 

Sex in the classroom made me a troubler

Seeking a double helping of girls in the round,

Bound in constant experimentation, no way

To learn the social graces, incorporation,

More likely to occur, to end up in bed, a 

Devil’s waltz for shame, be damned mid stride,

A bridge of arms too far, a goal unwholesome

For the hop, something schools put a stop to.

 

No hot overtures to orgies, please, no threes.

 

Sins of the classroom, seventh grade, just me,

And Betty Jean and Wanda June learning to

Dance the way the Latins do, social expertise,

No striptease, no innuendo meant by threes,

A chance to be a teenager, but never again.

I miss you like an island paradise, lost at sea.

 

No cruise, no life boat, no tango for three.

Photo by Eugene Brown

Copyright Jimmy Warner, 2005